Alex Markovich

Graduate Student
MA Cohort 2016

Specialization

Political Economy, Sustainable Development, and the Environment

Bio

Alex earned a B.A. in Global Studies from UCSB in 2014. In 2015, he spent his time working under faculty at the University of Ghana, Legon, conducting research and taking courses on the history and language of the area. He aimed to develop a historicist perspective of the cocoa industry, one of the largest extractive industries in Ghana, to better understand the impact of greater demand and higher rates of production over the past two centuries.

Upon returning to California, Alex took up work with the University of California working with UCSB’s Office of International Students and Scholars as an Ambassador for international students coming to live, study, and work at the University. From this position he branched out into the field of English as a Second Language, teaching and tutoring for the University’s Campus Learning Assistance Services and private groups in the Santa Barbara area.

In the interim, Alex has spent his time auditing graduate level courses at UCSB and pursuing an independent research project focusing on the politics of water allocation of the Colorado River. Born and raised in Corona, Southern California, a place with a tumultuous relationship to water and a recipient of water from the Colorado River Aqueduct, Alex yearns to better understand the history, purpose, and structure of the systems that have sustained, nourished, and made possible his well-being, while ultimately seeking a way to contribute to and improve upon these given systems.

Alex seeks to tie together his experiences and knowledge in a meaningful way, bringing together individuals from diverse backgrounds to meet and confront the challenges of the 21st century.

 

Research

  • Gender and Development: The Impact of the Cocoa Industry on Gender Roles in the Ashanti Region, Ghana
  • Independent research on the Colorado River Delta and its history, Colorado River water allocation, with an overall focus on the demographics of power in resource allocation.

 

Courses

Teaching Assistant (F'16): GLOBL 130 - Global Economy and Development

Teaching Assistant (W'17): GLOBL 158 - American Foreign Policy in the Middle East

Teaching Assistant (S'17): GLOBL 1 - Global History, Culture, and Ideology